BALTIMORE – Five Loyola University Maryland lacrosse players were named to the 2017 Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America teams by Inside Lacrosse, while men's lacrosse sophomore attacker Pat Spencer was named to the Player of the Year Watch List.
Spencer garnered recognition on the men's first team, while senior midfielder Brian Sherlock and sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Stover were on the second team. Junior defender Foster Huggins received honorable mention.
Junior midfielder Sabrina Tabasso earned mention on the women's third team.
Following the most prolific freshman season in school history, Spencer starts the year ranked third on the magazine's Player of the Year Watch List. He finished the 2016 season as a USILA Second Team All-American after tying Gary Hanley's 1981 school record with 89 points on 37 goals and 52 assists. He was named the Freshman of the Year by Inside Lacrosse, and he also became the first player to outright win the Patriot League Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.
Spencer finished the year ranked second in NCAA Division I in points (4.94) and assists (2.89) per game after recording two or more points in all 18 of the Greyhounds' games. He had four or more points in 14 of 18 games, and he averaged 6.3 points over Loyola's last 10 games of the year.
Sherlock earned USILA All-America Honorable Mention for the second year in a row last season while also earning his third-straight unanimous All-Patriot League First Team recognition. He was third on the team in three scoring categories: points (37), goals (24) and assists (13). The two-time Academic All-Patriot League Team member enters his senior season with 114 career points on 72 goals and 42 assists.
Stover took over starting responsibilities in goal for the Greyhounds in late March, a time that coincided with a 10-game winning streak by Loyola. He finished the year ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in goals-against average (7.8) and eighth in saves percentage (.569) while playing more than 654 minutes between the pipes. He was named to the Patriot League Championships All-Tournament Team and later made a season-high 16 saves in the NCAA First Round against Duke.
In her first season on the field – she missed the 2015 campaign with an injury and has three remaining seasons of eligibility – Tabasso was named to the All-Patriot League First Team and the IWLCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team. Tabasso finished the season with 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points while leading the Greyhounds with 62 draw controls, earning her recognition on the ILWomen All-Freshman Team.
Huggins made the first start of his career in the 2016 season-opener, and he finished the year as an All-Patriot League First Team honoree after developing a reputation as one of the nation's best one-on-one cover men. The Academic All-Patriot League member finished the year with 24 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers.
The Loyola men open their 2017 season at home on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they host the University of Virginia, while the women's side commences play on Wednesday, Feb. 22, with a home game against Johns Hopkins University. Ticket packages for both teams are available at LoyolaGreyhounds.com/tickets.